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December 13 – National Day of the Horse

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday encourages people to commemorate the importance of the horse to the history, culture, and economy of the United States. The domesticated horse that we know today was first introduced by Spanish Explorers. As the country grew, horses became indispensable for transportation, farm and ranch work, and communications. The more than nine million horses that now reside in America depend on people for adequate food, water, shelter, and protection. On this holiday, consider donating to a horse rescue shelter near you.

Thelma the Unicorn

By Aaron Blabey

“Thelma felt a little sad. / In fact, she felt forlorn. / You see, she wished with all her heart / to be a unicorn.” Thelma was a little pony—brown and short and overlooked. Her best friend Otis told her, “‘You’re perfect as you are,’” but when Thelma compared herself to the sleek white mare on the farm, she said, “‘I’m not.’” Suddenly, she saw a carrot left over from dinner and had an idea.

Copyright Aaron Babey, 2017, courtesy of Scholastic Press.

She tied the carrot to her nose and told Otis, “‘I’ll say that I’m a unicorn! / It might just work… / who knows?’” At this very moment a truck driver passing by caught sight of this spectacle and careened off the side of the road. “As Thelma watched the swerving truck, / it very nearly hit her. / Would you believe that truck was filled / with nice pink paint and glitter?”

In the blink of an eye Thelma was doused in sparkles and had become what she always dreamed of. She was a unicorn and “special now!” Crowds lined up at the farm gate to see the pink unicorn. The media descended with their cameras and video recorders, and Thelma quickly became a world-wide phenomenon. Everywhere she went fans screamed her name, took pictures, waved signs, and wanted to be near her. She even got her hoofprint on the Walk of Fame.

Copyright Aaron Babey, 2017, courtesy of Scholastic Press.

Thelma sailed to foreign ports on a ship named The Fairy Princess, attended by stewards who fulfilled her every wish. “But soon she found that so much fame / was kind of tricky, too….” Her fans mobbed her with crushing zeal, chased after her wherever she went, screamed, cried, laughed, and pointed whenever they saw her, and hounded her day and night for her autograph. “It NEVER EVER stopped.”

When Thelma asked “the screaming crowd” not to chase her anymore, they said “‘We’ll chase you all we want….We’re fans, so it’s allowed.’” Then there were there were the people who “were not her fans at all. / No, some were really mean. / And some just did the meanest things / she’d really ever seen.” Some threw eggs while she roller skated for charity and others held up signs reading “I don’t like unicorns” where she was sure to see them.

Copyright Aaron Babey, 2017, courtesy of Scholastic Press.

Back in her fancy hotel room, all alone and bedraggled, soaked in egg, and with her “horn” losing its luster, Thelma looked at a photo of Otis. “…she felt quite sad, / this famous little pony. / She said, ‘I thought that I’d feel great… / but all I feel is lonely.’” She decided to make a change. She washed off all the pink paint and sparkles and “ditched her magic horn.”

She left and “walked right past the crowd. / They didn’t even notice / She thought how nice that it would be…to see her lovely Otis.” As Thelma stood underneath a tree with Otis, “he asked about her trip.” “‘Oh, it was fun,’” she answered him, “‘But I’d rather be just me.’”

Copyright Aaron Babey, 2017, courtesy of Scholastic Press.

Aaron Blabey’s cautionary tale of a pony who is granted her wish to be “more” than she is, deftly reveals the pitfalls of abandoning your true nature for what appears to be the perks of celebrity with a splash of humor and some no-nonsense honesty. Through Blabey’s smoothly flowing rhymes, readers see that being special is not based on a sparkly appearance that pleases false friends. Instead, each person is remarkable for their unique personalities and talents that true friends will appreciate.

Today’s social media-savvy children will recognize Blabey’s screaming crowds and overzealous fans and will come to understand, with Thelma, that being “in the pink” can be short-lived and glitter soon fades.

Copyright Aaron Babey, 2017, courtesy of Scholastic Press.

Blabey’s distinctive illustrations portray Thelma’s transformation from “regular pony” to celebrity unicorn and back again with flair and all the bling that goes along with superstardom. The crowds are giddy, awed, obsessive, and adoring until the backlash starts, which Blabey portrays with candid examples. His final spreads in which Thelma goes unrecognized by her fans and is then lovingly welcomed back by Otis beautifully sum up the theme of the story.

Thelma the Unicorn provides readers and adults a wonderful opportunity to discuss the allure of changing oneself in order to fit in as well as the social media atmosphere that can be so influential in a child’s life. Blabey’s light touch coupled with his honesty makes Thelma the Unicorn a great choice for home and classroom libraries.

Ages 3 – 7

Scholastic Press, 2017 | ISBN 978-1338158427

Scholastic Press sent me a free copy of Thelma the Unicorn to check out. All opinions are my own.

Discover more about Aaron Blabey, his books, and his art on his website

National Day of the Horse Activity

Whoa! Candy Stick Cover

There’s no neigh-saying that this isn’t a cute way to give your favorite candy stick a bit of flair! With a bit of felt and a few other supplies you can make this horse craft. Alternately, this craft can be used with a cardboard tube or wooden dowel.

Supplies

Large or small candy stick, cardboard tube or wooden dowel

Felt in whatever color you’d like for your horse

Felt in a another color for the mane

Black felt for the nostrils

Thin ribbon or leather lacing

Small googly eyes

Fabric glue or hot glue gun

Scissors

Tweezers

Directions

Cut a piece of felt wide enough to wrap around the stick overlapping a little to glue together. It should be long enough to cover about 1 ½ inches of a small candy stick, about 2 ½ inches of a large candy stick, or about 3 to 4 inches of a cardboard tube or wooden dowel.

Wrap the felt around the stick overlapping the edge about ¼ inch and leaving about ½ inch above the top of the stick.

Glue the felt together along the overlapping edge to make a tube that fits the stick tightly

To make the ears

Push down on the center of the back side of the felt that rises above the top of the stick

Apply a drop of glue

Push the center of the front edge of the felt into the glue

The ears will stick up on the sides of the head

To make the horse’s nose and mouth

Remove the felt head from the stick

Pinch the end together

Starting about ½ inch from the bottom, round the corners of the felt tube with the scissors

To make the nostrils

Cut small circles from the black felt

Glue them to the bottom of the horse’s nose

Glue the googly eyes on the horse’s face

To make the mane

Cut a strip of felt as long as the face by 1 inch wide for a large candy stick; about ¾ inch wide for a small candy stick

Fold the felt in half lengthwise

Glue the edges of the felt together, leaving the top unglued

Snip fringe along the length of the felt

Cut a small curve in the bottom of one end of the length of felt so it will fit over the top of the horse’s head

Glue the rest of the length of felt down the back of the horse’s head

To add the reins

Cut a length of narrow ribbon or leather lacing about 6 inches long

Glue the center of the ribbon or lacing to the horse’s face above the nostrils at the level of the trimmed mouth around to the mane